The Blackest and Best One-Liners from The Color Purple

It’s hard to choose a favorite line in the film, but this one comes pretty close. Celie is finally getting away from Albert after years of abuse. And as the scene closes, Celie lets Albert know that she’s still standing.

In another great one-liner from the same scene, Celie puts her hand up to Albert as he tries to hit her and lets him know once and for all that she’s no longer allowing herself to be controlled by him.

As Celie leaves Albert’s house for the last time, she declares that all the misery he inflicted on her will come back on him.

Who could forget the dinner scene when Celie tells Albert she’s leaving for good? She listened quietly as he hurled insults at her. But his condescending answer to her question about keeping letters from Nettie from her was the last straw, forcing Celie to utter some pretty haunting words – while holding a knife to his neck.

Here, Sofia confronts Celie for advising her husband, Harpo, to beat her when she refuses to obey him. Although jealousy was Celie’s ultimate motivation for giving the bad advice, Sofia is here to let everyone know she is not the one to be messed with.

In this scene, which has one of the film’s best musical numbers, Shug and her father share a hug as she finally earns his approval.

While overhearing a conversation between Mr. and Old Mister where they insult Shug, Celie mutters to herself that they’re only bad-mouthing her because they have a problem with her independence.

Ok, so technically this way more than one line, but this scene is just one of many that solidified Oprah Winfrey’s Best Supporting Actress nomination in 1985. Here, her character Sofia lets Celie know that she refuses to allow her husband Harpo to abuse her.

Here, Celie tells Sofia that thinking about the afterlife helps her deal with the pain of her reality. Unconvinced, Sofia tells Celie she’d rather fight back than wait to get to Heaven.

In this touching scene, Shug advises Celie to take time to appreciate all that beautiful around her.

Over the course of the story, free spirited jazz singer Shug Avery becomes Celie’s companion, source of strength and the object of her affection. But as we see in this classic scene, Shug’s first words to Celie were not so nice.

This scene is really the gift that keeps on giving. When Celie leaves to start a new life with Shug, you can’t help but root for her as she finally gets to unload on Albert after years of abuse.

Who could forget the heart wrenching scene in which Albert separates sisters Celie and Nettie? As they realize this could be the last time they see one another, Celie tells Nettie to write letters, to which Nettie replies, “Nothing but death can keep me from it.”

In one of the best one-liners of the film, Sofia is here to let Celie know that Harpo’s abuse could cost him his life.